Toothpicks

Toothpicks are to be banned from South Korean restaurants in order to make scraps fit for pigs. The Environment Ministry says farmers have complained that discarded toothpicks often kill pigs and other animals fed with the garbage. Violators of the ban, which takes effect Feb. 1, would face fines of up to $3,700, a ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

Diddy -- hip-hop impresario, designer and former Mr. Lopez -- is doing his part to transform the lowly toothpick into something sophisticated. Often spotted on red carpets with a wooden sliver jutting from his mouth, Diddy took his reinventing-the-toothpick effort to a new level Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards. Diddy, who also recently announced that he was dropping the P before the Diddy, made his grand entrance as emcee of the annual event by rising up out of the stage. While his suit was the very definition of fly, he topped it off with a toothpick.

Diddy -- hip-hop impresario, designer and former Mr. Lopez -- is doing his part to transform the lowly toothpick into something sophisticated. Often spotted on red carpets with a wooden sliver jutting from his mouth, Diddy took his reinventing-the-toothpick effort to a new level Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards. Diddy, who also recently announced that he was dropping the P before the Diddy, made his grand entrance as emcee of the annual event by rising up out of the stage. While his suit was the very definition of fly, he topped it off with a toothpick.

Grilled Cajun Shrimp8 medium to large shrimp, shelled and deveined8 large basil leaves2 teaspoons Cajun spice mix1 1/2 tablespoons olive oilWooden skewers or toothpicksSoak 2 wooden skewers or 8 plain round wooden toothpicks in water for 20 minutes.Wrap basil leaves around shrimp and skewer with toothpicks or place on wooden skewers. Grill until shirmp is opaque, 3 to 4 minutes per side.Mix spice and oil. Spoon over shrimp and refrigerate all day or overnight. To reheat, microwave on high for 15 to 20seconds or wrap in foil and heat in a 375 F oven for 1 minute or until warm; serve.

Slice a thin section from the bottom of a melon to provide a stable base and draw the pattern as shown. Use a sharp knife to cut out the section which is used to make the buggy's handle.To make the handle, use a knife and cut the end section as shown and remove the pulp from the rind. Use a sharp knife to make the zigzag edge along the side.Remove the top section of the rind and hollow out the inside. Use this to make melon balls. Attach the handle, skin up, with toothpicks. Attach wheels made from citrus slices to the melon with toothpicks.

It is much easier to call home for the holidays than it was 100 years ago. Telephones are improving each year. Today it is easy to buy a cell phone that can take pictures, keep track of your calendar, send messages and fit in your pocket. Antique phones were different. Those made before 1900 were often large, wall-hung wooden boxes, sometimes called "coffin phones" because of their shape. There was no dial, and calls were made with the help of a live operator. By 1910, phones were made of Bakelite and nickel-plated metal.

Materials needed: Avocado; plastic cup; three toothpicks.Completion time: Four to six weeks.Avocados have one of the largest seeds gardeners will encounter - big enough for small hands to hold, even if it is slippery. Let youngsters help separate one from a fruit. Explain there is a plant inside the seed and that most of the seed is food for the baby plant to grow on.Notice the seed is pointed at one end and flat at the other. The flat end is the bottom, from which a taproot will grow. Insert the three toothpicks into the sides of the seed half an inch from the bottom, spacing them evenly around the sides.

Materials needed: avocado; clear plastic cup, small wide-mouth jar or a juice glass; four toothpicks; a large pot with fresh soil; and houseplant fertilizer.Completion time: three months to transplanting.The project: Inside every avocado is a large seed ready to grow a new tree. Ask an adult to let you help prepare the next avocado for a meal. Tell the adult to cut into the fruit carefully without harming the seed.You can help by pulling the cut halves of the fruit apart. Remove the seed by pulling and pushing a little.

LAKE ALFRED -- A man serving prison sentence for trying to kill two women in Lake Hamilton was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the strangling of an 80-year-old woman 13 years ago after police said he was linked to the killing by a toothpick. James Arthur Holloway, 51, who was serving 30 years in Union Correctional Institute, was expected to be released in July, before the indictment Thursday. In February, Polk County sheriff's detectives reopened the investigation into the 1991 killing of Maggie Rigsbee.

It is much easier to call home for the holidays than it was 100 years ago. Telephones are improving each year. Today it is easy to buy a cell phone that can take pictures, keep track of your calendar, send messages and fit in your pocket. Antique phones were different. Those made before 1900 were often large, wall-hung wooden boxes, sometimes called "coffin phones" because of their shape. There was no dial, and calls were made with the help of a live operator. By 1910, phones were made of Bakelite and nickel-plated metal.

YALAHA -- Making a gingerbread house is harder than it looks. Children and their families -- about 80 people in all -- discovered that Sunday when they attended the second annual Gingerbread House Party thrown by the Yalaha Country Bakery. Each family donated $10 to the bakery's charitable foundation. The bakery provided the rest: tubes packed with white frosting, bags full of gingerbread and more than 100 pounds of assorted candies. By making gingerbread houses, local families could take a breather from the holiday rush and do something together, said Lee Hanks, 50, one of the founders of the bakery's foundation.

Card playing was an important activity in the 18th century. There was no radio or television, and few books, so games of all types were popular. Card games were part of the social scene where mixed groups of men and women met. Women could compete with men on an equal basis. Young men could meet women card players without the usual supervision by parents. The games also appealed to those who liked to gamble and drink. TOOTHPICK WORTH SAVING Q: Do you know anything about "personal toothpicks"?

I have watched perfectly loving women become certified people-haters upon assuming the mantle of grocery-store cooking demonstrators.When I became an employee of a supermarket chain, I was one of four who weekly cooked a dish and handed it out, gratis, to the shopping public. I liked the job, and, drawing on a wide acquaintance with the foibles of my fellow humans, I was really not surprised by what I found.Not so the others. The calumny of the consuming public was a never-ending source of annoyance to them:``Did you know that one man stood at my cart and helped himself to 10 servings of my cut fruit?

Mike Drummonds fingers are as thick as all-beef hot dogs. His burly hands, spread out a-gainst the dining-room table, are obviously strong, the result of decades as an ironworker, and now a rigger, building scaffolds hundreds of feet in the air at Ken-nedy Space Center.But what you see first are the scars, smashed knuckles, nicks, calluses, strange bends. One thumb was cut off by a car door and sewn back on when he was 2 or 3. A pinky and its nail were split open doing ironwork; Drummond just folded the finger flaps back together and let it heal.

Q. How do paleontologists know Neanderthal man used toothpicks?A. Grooves in teeth.A peeled orange will give you a lot of Vitamin C, true, but a raw red pepper will give you four times as much.Understand Tom Bosley - you see him all over TV - wanted to be a sports announcer.''Let the baby go barefoot until it starts to walk,'' recommends one medical specialist.Am told a tropical rain forest never gets cooler than 68 degrees F.Golfer Bobby Baker in his rookie year at the Inverness Classic remarked to Jack Nicklaus: ''I hope my large gallery doesn't make you nervous.

ARE YOU one of those people who wish they'd flossed whenever the dentist prods their plaque with his nasty little instruments? You promptly forget about it the minute you're out of that chair, right? A Farmingdale, N.J., company called Bio-Pak Associates has introduced the Bio-Pik tooth-cleaning aid just for you. Despite dentists' pleas, only about 5 percent of Americans actually floss, says Douglas White, president of Bio-Pak. The big reason is inconvenience. Bio-Pik's plastic picks are more durable than toothpicks and more convenient than floss, White says.

Toothpicks are to be banned from South Korean restaurants in order to make scraps fit for pigs. The Environment Ministry says farmers have complained that discarded toothpicks often kill pigs and other animals fed with the garbage. Violators of the ban, which takes effect Feb. 1, would face fines of up to $3,700, a ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but someone tell my family I don't want any small electrical appliances for Christmas.My house can't absorb another combination electric knife/toothpick/pot-stirrer. There is no more room left on my counters or in my cabinets. My friends have taken to calling my burgeoning attic ''small appliance heaven.'' Even the inaccessible little cabinet above the refrigerator is full of devices that are only occasionally used, because I have to drag a chair over and remove all the stuff from the top of the refrigerator to get them out.A few years back I was quite pleased with the spare state of my kitchen.